- Troubled internet firm had lost ground to rivals
- Yahoo revenue growth 11 times less than Google
- Bartz 'fired over the phone' by Yahoo Chairman
 |
| Fired: Carol bartz has overseen a rocky three-year tenure at ailing firm Yahoo |
Yahoo boss
Carol Bartz has been fired as the company's chief executive after the ailing
internet firm lost further ground to main rival Google.
Ms Bartz,
who was axed by phone, has had a rocky tenure lasting nearly three years
punctuated by stagnating growth and a bitter row with one of the firm's Chinese
partners.
The
63-year-old CEO, who was hired despite a lack of internet or advertising
experience, told Yahoo employees that she was fired over the phone by Yahoo's
Chairman of the Board.
Most
recently, Yahoo have settled a payment dispute with China's Alibaba Group, in
which Yahoo holds a 40 per cent stake.
Ms Bartz
has also had to watch as Yahoo loses further ground as an internet domain to
all-conquering Google, while also facing strong competition from other social
networks like Facebook.
She
announced her departure to employees via a two-sentence email from her iPad
which read: 'I am very sad to tell you that I've just been fired over the phone
by Yahoo's Chairman of the Board.
'It has
been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going
forward.'
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The
California-based company have appointed chief financial officer Timothy Morse
as CEO on an interim basis, but plan to search for a permanent replacement for
Ms Bartz.
At its peak
in 2000, Yahoo shares traded for $125. Last night they closed at $12.91.
Yahoo lost
further ground in the race against Google during Ms Bartz's tenure, despite
actually making more money through layoffs, service closures and other
cost-cutting moves.
 |
| Media moguls: Bartz, far right, attends a CEO summit in Washington alongside Richard Branson, Michael Capellas, president of Compaq, Steve Ballmer, president and CEO of Microsoft, and Bill Gates |
Last year
Yahoo's revenue edged up by just two per cent in the first nine months of the
year, while Google's climbed by 23 per cent in the same period.
In April
the same year, the straight-talking boss candidly admitted that she 'could have
done better' in her job, by which time speculation around her job was already
growing.
A TROUBLED
TENURE
- Jan '09: Bartz appointed Yahoo CEO, replacing co-founder Jerry Yang, who resigned under pressure from investors after rejecting a Microsoft takeover bid.
- July '09: Yahoo and Microsoft seal ten-year search engine merger deal in attempt to rival Google.
- April 2010: Bartz admits she, along with 100 other executives at Yahoo, 'could have done better'.
- Sept 2010: Yahoo's revenue growth for first nine months of year is 11 times less than that of Google.
- Dec 2010: The firm's poor financial growth forces Bartz to lay off between 600 and 700 employees.
- Feb 2011: Yahoo is valued at around $22.11bn, while Google is worth $169.38bn.
- May 2011: Row between Yahoo and Chinese partner Alibaba sees U.S. firm lose part of its 40 per stake in Asian company.
Facebook
has also become another serious competitor for Yahoo by attracting the major
marketing partners which once went to Yahoo during the dotcom boom in 2000.
The firm
were forced to lay off over 600 staff - around five per cent of its workforce -
last year due to lacklustre growth.
The
departure was first reported by the Wall Street Journal's All Things D
technology blog.
Yahoo
shares jumped 74 cents, or 5.7%, to $13.65 in after-hours trading, around 12%
higher than they were when Ms Bartz was named chief executive.
Roy
Bostock, chairman of the Yahoo board, said: 'The board sees enormous growth
opportunities on which Yahoo! can capitalize, and our primary objective is to
leverage the Company's leadership and current business assets and platforms to
execute against these opportunities.
'We have
talented teams and tremendous resources behind them and intend to return the
Company to a path of robust growth and industry-leading innovation.'
 |
| Embattled: The ailing Californian internet firm have lost ground in the past two years to Google, while facing stern competition from Facebook |
Mr Bostock
also thanked Ms Bartz for her service to Yahoo during 'a critical time of
transition in the company's history, and against a very challenging
macro-economic backdrop'.
Mr Morse
said: 'It is an honor to be selected for this role and lead the Company with
this world-class team of executives.
'I look
forward to working with the Executive Leadership Council and the talented
employees of Yahoo!, and to partnering with the Board to invest in the
organization and continue to drive its ongoing growth plans.'
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